ossemon

My sensei tells me to get into shape for my nidan next summer... Will it turn my belt blacker?

I've gotten it, and I am in line for surgery. Time will tell

Yes, cardio workout was had.. For a SHORT while. Then my knee revealed to have a torn meniscus, and that was the end of that for now. I'm not allowed to run until the surgery, but I was told this week that I need to ride my bike to train my knee. Now I need to get a bike

Thank you all for the good advice! I am scheduled now for MR of my knees, and I hope there is nothing serious. Tabata I will look up, I am doing a little bit on the ellipse-machine.

Hi, guys! Thanks for all the great replies! My knee problem is due to being too overweight for a period combined with surgery. If I run, especially on a hard surface, I get pains in my knee very quickly. That is why I avoid running. If I do run, it is short bursts, and that works great. I have an elliptical machine here at work, but I never tried it. I will give it a go. As of swimming, I don't have time to go to a pool, but I will swim more this summer I will look into HIIT and other interval sessions! Again, thank you all (Yesterday I had a brilliant stamina session while instructing: I was completely exhausted, and so was all my students )

Hi! I was wondering if any of you had good tips for increasing stamina. Unfortunately, due to my knees, I cannot run (outside or on a treadmill) However, I have a FULLY equipped gym available, with a huge training hall and a lot of machines. I also have 2 x 1 hour/weekly available during working hours i planned to use for this. Any hints?

Indeed! I have gone through all of Ev's blog posts over the last two days, and I am impressed. She "suffers" from the same problem as me: I train hard, and a lot, but weight-loss comes hard if it comes at all. I am, however, rather fit. I can wear down younger and tougher guys than myself, even though I probably weigh 20-30kg "too much".

I found that tools for building self esteem were the most effective for a feeling of mastering for women. Doing locks, throws and punches CAN be effective, if they manage to execute them properly in training, but it is seldom so. I give the women a few self defense techniques with everyday objects, such as lip balm, keys, cellphones and so forth, and then ask them to clutch said items whenever they feel unsafe, and picture how much damage they actually can do with such a mundane object. I still have a scar on my hand from teaching a self defense class a couple of years back, where one of the girls jammed her lip stick into the back of my hand and dug it in when I attacked her from behind and grabbed her.

As an instructor, I would like to hear about it. Both if you fought, or if you managed to avoid it. I need to hear how you managed either way, and what I could have done better in the past to train you for these situations.

For me, the most important thing is exercises to build self esteem and self awareness. Best self defense is to avoid the situations. I also tell my students in self defense classes for women that a class like this is just like a first aid course: It doesn't make you a doctor..

I play metal in the dojo during warm ups some times. You are more than welcome, even though I fear most of my students pictured are into Bieber and One Direction

It is brilliant! Congrats!

I don't want karate in the Olympics. It will water it down. It will be to karate-ka jumping up and down for 1:55, and then an attempt at the quickest gyakuzuki for a point...

I won't call my Dojo a McDojo. We spar with gloves, both for kumite and jiju-kumite. It is a matter of protection, both for one's own safety, and that of others. Imagine sending a bunch of beginners out on the tatami with bare knuckles. It simply shouldn't be done. We do fight, spare bare knuckled on occasion, but our problem is the fact that our insurance only covers damages if we are wearing protective gear... As for prices: 18€ isn't too bad, really. We charge 40€/month for adults and 29€/month kids, and grading (with diploma and belt) is 25€, twice a year. Though: This isn't really comparable, as Norway is insanely expensive. Our nearby McDojo charges 86€/month... THAT is crazy.

Thank you very much! We had our christmas grading yesterday. 80 students, a lot of great karate and a looooong evening